Due to the aggravated conditions and financial issues of the Ewha Swimming Pool, the school is considering renovating or closing the facility. Photo by Park Jae-won.

The College of Science and Industry Convergence, which is in charge of maintenance, stated on Nov. 9 that it has been struggling with financial and safety issues due to the deteriorated facilities. The college wanted to replace the pool with a different facility that could compensate its losses. But if the majority of students do not agree with such a change, the college will find other solutions to improve the pool.

As such matters were not fully disclosed to students, the Central Operation Committee requested a meeting with the dean of the College of Science and Industry Convergence and the director of the Community Sports Education Center. But both declined the request, saying that they had decided to maintain the facility, and promised to accommodate opinions through the Office of Facilities & Management team. However, in the meeting of Nov. 9 with the Office of Facilities & M a n a g e m e n t t e a m a n d t h e Central Operation Committee, the management team shared details on what they had been currently examining, including the potential renovation of the pool, securement of place for an alternate facility in case of a shutdown, and further plans on making good use of the space. The management team seemed to convey a quite different message compared to the college’s final decision of maintaining the pool. “We are aware that it is important to communicate with the department and reflect their opinions, but we cannot simply guarantee the upkeep of the facility due to serious financial issues,” said an official from the Office of Facilities & Management. “We are actually willing to invest in the pool if it renovates into a fitness center.”

However, the main problem lies behind the process of the school’s decision making, as there has been no discussion with students or the staff of the swimming pool. As for the students majoring in Kinesiology and Sport Studies, their classes would be affected the most, so many students have pointed out that it was problematic for the school to leave students out of the discussion.

For this matter, the management team could not answer any further details regarding the class rights of the students because such matters were not under their administration. Further, on the reason why the school had not gathered opinions from the students and staffs, they said they were unable to reveal any specific numbers regarding the pool to students.

Future plans for the school swimming pool are still pending, but the school is considering more alternatives due to the committee’s constant request for student’s participation in the decision-making process.

“We are willing to participate in meetings with the students if necessary,” said an official from the Office of Facilities & Management. “We will try to reflect many students’ opinions on the decision.”